From the powerful influence of a beloved mentor to a bag-over-the-head stage debut and dreams of connubial bliss with Dame Helen Mirren, MATTHEW ALAN WARD bares all for this week’s Take Ten. Catch him in Wonderland: Alice's Rock & Roll Adventure[1] at Imagination Stage[2] through August 13.

1) What was the first show you ever saw, and what impact did it have?

The first professional play I ever saw was an adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at a place called the Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, TN near where I grew up. The teacher who took us (I was in the 4th grade I think) was the first teacher that ever showed me that being creative was a part of who I am, so the trip to see that play I would say set me on the path that led me to find who I was as an artist. I found out later that Mr. Majors was a gay man who eventually died of AIDS at the latter end of the epidemic in the early ‘90s and had lived in Memphis and drove every day down to our po-dunk school called Walls Elementary on the cusp of the Northern end of the Mississippi delta just to teach kids in a “Spotlight” program for “gifted” children. He changed my life for sure.

2) What was your first involvement in a theatrical production?

Funny...my mom who was an actress and singer at the time, was doing a production of The Wiz when I was maybe 4 years old. All I remember is that I played a little munchkin on someone’s shoulders and I was so shy that I would cry when they took me out on stage. So, the easy solution was to just put a small duffel bag over my head kind of like blinders on a horse.. it worked. That was my stage debut.

3) What’s your favorite play or musical, and why do you like it so much?

I am often reticent to list favorites, but I suppose right now I would pick Henry IV Parts 1 & 2. Attending the MFA program at The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University made me fall head over heels for the Bard and I tend to be shameless about that in sometimes heated conversations among other theater artists. The short reason for me is that these two plays interweave intrinsic social dynamics that I find fascinating and resonate with experiences in society today, even here in America.

4) What’s the worst day job you ever took?

There have been so many, its truly hard to pick just one...so many service industry jobs, that I have actually had to swear them off. I had a few construction jobs over the years too, and it just never felt like I was doing something I was supposed to do or had any business doing in the first place. I sold Cutco knives for a while, that was probably the most out of my element I have ever felt, it was like a door to door knife salesman but you call people instead of knocking on their doors. It was miserable.

5) What is your most embarrassing moment in the theatre?

That’s a tough one too. My senior year of undergrad I auditioned for SETC and failed to get through the screening phase which would have allowed me to directly audition for Rep companies, mainly because I did not prep a good audition piece and didn’t have much help with the process. As unsexy as this one may be, I was deeply embarrassed and it later sort of led to me quitting acting for a few years, among other reasons.

This is a bucket list kind of a play for me, in that I remember being a kid and every night falling asleep to the idea of being a rock star or playing in a band. I never really thought it would come true for whatever reason, strange considering both my parents played music and my dad was a professional musician for years. This group of people is so incredibly talented in every way, they inspire me every performance, even 44 shows into the run.

I would marry Dame Hellen Mirren right now. Do you think she would read this?

8) What is your dream role/job?

If I ever convince someone to let me carry a show, I would love a crack at Hamlet (yeah, yeah). But Henry IV is a close second, along with all of Shakespeare’s clowns. Oh, and Mozart in Amadeus...saw that one as a kid and thats on the bucket list.

9) If you could travel back in time, what famous production or performance would you choose to see?

Probably if I could just pick one, the first ever production of Henry V. Probably the first play performed at the New Globe Theatre in 1599. That was a pretty big deal.

10) What advice would you give to an 8-year-old smitten by theatre / for a graduating MFA student?

For the 8 year old, don't be afraid to fall in love with stories, and more importantly let them inspire you to be the best version of yourself, whatever that may be. You will figure it out, as long as you really listen to your heart. Its usually right. For the graduating MFA student, welcome to the show, and always take the work more seriously than you take yourself. Don’t compare and despair, always be learning, and remember that this is an endurance sport.

MATTHEW ALAN WARD is currently performing as the Mad Hatter and the Red King in Imagination Stage’s Wonderland: Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure. He has been a Synetic Theater company member since 2009 and could be seen in many shows over the years including three Helen Hayes Award winners for Outstanding Ensemble. Other recent credits include Where Words Once Were at The Kennedy Center TYA, Fear and Bones in Whispers at Longacre Lea, Colossal at Olney Theatre Center, The Lt of Innishmore at Constellation Theatre, Two Gentlemen of Verona at Annapolis Shakespeare Company. He has also recently collaborated with Theater Alliance on Mnemonic and as Assistant Director for Still Life With Rocket. He holds an MFA from The George Washington University’s Academy for Classical Acting in Washington D.C.and a BA in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.